A trip that wasn't, a day that shouldn't have been by Jane Tolbert

As a kid, I remember reading plenty of stories about witches and evil spells. That’s the only explanation of what happened this past weekend. I planned to return to Melbourne for Labor Day weekend and reconnect with friends and nature. Tandas of tango at a milonga, wine and gossip, biking and breakfast. Now that I had left the coast, I could even return as a tourist—I’d take long walks on the beach and watch the sunrise.
Everything seemed to go as planned. Well, almost.

I succumbed to a curse, a mysterious “bug” that left me housebound for days. The trip back to Gainesville, normally three hours, seemed an eternity, and I felt every dimple in the pavement. When I arrived at my mom's house where I am staying, I left my suitcases in the car (the tango shoes, the bike gear). It was one of those "bugs" that my dad always described as making you feel like you were going to die, then sorry you didn't. At least my healthcare had kicked in Sept. 1, or so I thought.

The days of accumulated mail told me that my state healthcare application submitted more than a month ago had never been registered. Combine this news with my brewing bad feeling, and add to this volatile mixture one article in the WSJ about an author who has more than 450,000 readers of his blog. . . .

Last night, I went to the tango practica, knowing music and dance would uplift my spirits. Given I had been functioning on three cylinders the past several days, I had never unpacked. The clothes needed ironing. Extracting the ironing board (a chore even when in perfect health), brought down a column of plastic bags and old brooms. Obviously, the evil spell was still with me, and I was in a black mood. And I am sure most family, friends and pets have steered clear of me these past days. I did take two pairs of tango shoes—luck would have had it to break a heel or a strap.

I spent some time at the library en route to tango—no, not looking up ways to remove spells or for cures in self-help books. Just some light reading, some “chick lit.” Escapism might be a way to beat the spell. Today, things look brighter. Fortunately, family, friends and pets are still here too. And coffee tastes great this morning.